Osomatsu
Matsuno (松野 おそ松) |image = File:Chara_osomatsu.png |caption = Osomatsu as he appears in the 2015 anime. |Row 1 title = Gender |Row 1 info = Male |Row 2 title = Blood type |Row 2 info = A |Row 3 title = Date of Birth |Row 3 info = May 24 |Row 4 title= 1965 VA |Row 4 info= Minori Matsushima |Row 5 title = 1966 VA |Row 5 info = Midori Katō |Row 6 title = 1988 VA |Row 6 info = Yō Inoue |Row 7 title= -kun Pachinko VA |Row 7 info= Yui Shoji |Row 8 title= -kun Pachislot VA |Row 8 info= Chihiro Kusaka |Row 9 title = 2015 VA |Row 9 info = Takahiro Sakurai |Row 10 title = English VA |Row 10 info = TBA }} Matsuno '(松野おそ松 ''Matsuno Osomatsu) is the titular character of the series 'Osomatsu-kun. '''He is the eldest of the sextuplets and acts as the leader. His name derives from the word お粗末 (''osomatsu), meaning "poor"/"lousy". An older version of the character also appears as the titular protagonist in the 2015 sequel '''Osomatsu-san. Overview As the character the series is named for (though he is displaced later on in the manga and the 1988 anime), Osomatsu's design sets the basic look for the other sextuplets. He is best known for being a trouble-maker and ring-leading his brothers into his schemes, with him ranging from being a more averagely mischievous boy to an outright bully and cruel to those weaker than him. Though often set as 10 years old in his -kun basis, there are occasions early on where he may be 12 instead, and he may either be a child or adult when used throughout Akatsuka's Star System. Personality & Characteristics Child (-kun) Appearance The younger Osomatsu generally appears as a young boy who wears his hair short in an old-fashioned style, with the fringe either swept to the side or more often depicted as a bowl-cut from later head-on views. The hair has two curled strands in the back, as cowlicks. In the initial frontispiece for the manga, he was depicted with more of a larger snubbed nose, freckles, and a long mouth, but these facial features were quickly altered for the actual comic (although the freckles would still appear in some other early frontispieces). His more iconic features include larger eyes that are set closer together, a smaller rounded nose, and a mouth not as set to the side. He is most often seen wearing a three-buttoned uniform coat with a white collar, lighter-colored pants, and running shoes. In summer chapters, he wears a lighter, short-sleeved shirt with dark shorts; these colors are swapped around to match the winter outfit in the 1988 Pierrot anime. In both the manga as well as anime adaptations, Osomatsu's height varies from reflecting how he is tall for his age (150cm) and slim (46kg) but strongly built, to him being much shorter and chubbier of a child. The 1988 show in particular infamously depicts him and the others much smaller as the series goes on, due to the overall art shift. Personality In overall depiction, Osomatsu is a fiery, self-confident and pushy boy who often proclaims himself the "leader" of the Matsuno brothers. Although he is regarded as a hooligan, he is also said to be well-liked by others due to his smooth attitude. He is the strongest fighter out of the sextuplets, and is particularly gluttonous and greedy when it comes to food and money. He often leads his brothers around, but he is incredibly unreliable and there are occasions where he'll sabotage them and lose their trust and satisfaction, leaving him to act alone. But even in some such situations, it is Osomatsu that the others have to wind up relying on to get them out of a trouble. When it comes to wanting to win the heart of Totoko or wanting the most attention, he will indeed betray those five others without much thought, even going as far as to abandon his family for the promise of money when a rich Kansai couple offers to adopt him. In some cases such as that, he would feel guilt and lonely for leaving his family behind, and even tells his brothers to "Take care of mom and dad" when he believes he's dying of a disease. However, other specific scenarios show him deviously taking delight in the idea of his brothers dying, so he would be left as the only child. Likewise, one situation where Osomatsu believes himself to have cancer (due to Dayon's mistaken claim) shows his brothers to laugh off his concern, claiming "It'll be okay since there will still be five of us left". He is most at odds with Chibita and Iyami, either set as the bully and rival of either one, or going against both of them in their schemes. But there are also times when Osomatsu would be more of the victim to either or both. Osomatsu notably hates green peppers, and his blood type (like the rest of his brothers) is given as A in his profile. Adult (-san) Appearance The adult design of Osomatsu in this series depicts his nose as more upturned than it was in -kun, while his mouth is more long and hanging like his early design. His hair is a softer shade of black, as to not overpower the blue lineart, and it is depicted as having red-tinted highlights to set him apart from the other five. As his image color was decided as "Red" for this series, it is often seen reflected in the outfits he wears with the exception of the formal blue suit jacket seen on some occasions. Personality The older Osomatsu in -san retains his bull-headed ways from his youth, and still presents himself as the leader (and, subsequently, the "most responsible" of the group, much to Choromatsu's particular disagreement). However, he is now more laid-back and much more foolish than the take-charge and rough child he once was, and has less motivation to get things done unless there is an instantly gratifying goal in mind. Though he expresses his hatred of being a sextuplet and wishes that he was an only child, he feels that he still has the responsibility to take care of them (which, ironically, is often the opposite of what he actually does). Whether he still deserves his title as the "best fighter" is debatable. Relationships Choromatsu As children (-kun) Through the runs of the original manga, Osomatsu is closest with Choromatsu, with the two often going off together and acting in unison. This leaves the two to be ditched by the other four brothers on occasion, citing how the two of them just get to go off on their own. Even when as a duo, Osomatsu is the clear leader and Choromatsu being the henchman to follow along. But as with the other brothers, Osomatsu can leave him to be a scapegoat and try to take the glory for himself. When Osomatsu is absent among the group, Choromatsu is the one to take charge in his place. This dynamic carries over to both anime adaptations and is most-represented of the duos. Karamatsu Ichimatsu Jyushimatsu Todomatsu Totoko Iyami Chibita Hatabō Dekapan Dayon Matsuzo Matsuno (Dad) Matsuyo Matsuno (Mom) History Foreign Names Note: Full names in other Southeast Asian dubs are listed in the Eastern standard order. Osomatsu appears with these names in dubbing and translations of the franchise outside of Japan. The renaming in Korea only applies to the -kun dub aired there; his name is retained in the -san dub aired in 2016. Portrayals Voice Acting In the first two sonosheets, Osomatsu was voiced by the actress Minori Matsushima. However, she did not carry forth to the 1966 anime and the role was recast with the next two sonosheets to be Midori Kato, who had taken over the role for the series. Kato would also reprise as Osomatsu in his cameos in Toei's 1969 Moretsu Ataro anime. By 1988, a new cast was issued for the new anime adaptation and the role of Osomatsu was taken by Yo Inoue, who was notably not utilized for other characters in the series (other than Totoko's mother in episode 19), as she was considered to be playing a "protagonist" role. After Inoue's death in 2003, the role of Osomatsu would be played by Chihiro Kusaka in the Daiichi pachislot games and she would resume the role for the 2017 Pachislot Osomatsu-kun. A brief diversion occurred, however, when Yui Shoji took on the role for SanThree's CR Osomatsu-kun in 2012. With the release of Osomatsu-san, Sakurai plays Osomatsu in all roles and ages present in the series, with no separate actress used for the Showa-era 10-year old Osomatsu. Live Action In 1985, Osomatsu would be portrayed by the actor Yosuke Nakajima in Fuji TV's Monday Dramaland special. Gallery Osomatsu/Gallery Episode Appearances 1966 Anime Osomatsu/1966 Anime Episode Appearances 1988 Anime Osomatsu/1988 Anime Episode Appearances 2015 Anime Osomatsu/Osomatsu-san Episode Appearances Trivia * Like the other sextuplets and members of the Matsuno family, his surname was initially not set in place and had appeared early on as Yamano. By 1964, it would be set as Matsuno, along with his birthday of May 24th. * A Fujio Pro statement on a 2016 TV program about the impact of -san had stated that Osomatsu may not necessarily be meant as the eldest sextuplet, despite the title being named after him. However, this is contradicted by how Fujio Pro has in fact strictly identified him as the eldest since at least the 1980s, along with the Pierrot anime. *As mentioned before, Osomatsu's character design is subject to use through Akatsuka's Star System; he was notably re-used in the 1971 Akatsuka manga "Let's La Gon", depicted as Gon's deceased eldest brother. Hatabo and Chibita's designs were also re-used for two of Gon's other dead siblings. Before then, he had cameos in the first run of Akko-chan alongside his brothers, and is the most commonly-seen of the sextuplets to pop up in other Akatsuka works to represent the group. External Links *Osomatsu profile, Koredeiinoda *Osomatsu and Brothers, Fujio Pro Category:Main Characters Category:Sextuplets Category:Male Characters